A ‘Base Closed’ sign is posted outside the main gate to Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake on July 7, 2019 in Ridgecrest, California. NAWS China Lake is currently “not mission capable until further notice” following a series of earthquakes nearby. Non-essential personnel were authorized to evacuate the base due to infrastructure concerns. The base remains accessible only to mission essential personnel. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

The two major earthquakes that struck last week near the town of Ridgecrest had their epicenter in the heart of the North Testing Range at Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake — a 1.2 million-acre military aerospace research and development test center in the Mojave Desert that is critical to national defense.

Destruction from the earthquakes — a magnitude 6.4 Thursday, July 4 and a magnitude 7.1 Friday, July 5 — prompted the Navy Region Southwest commander, Rear Adm. Bette Bolivar, to declare the base “not mission capable” and to authorize an evacuation of non-essential personnel — including government workers and Department of Defense contractors — to Naval Base Ventura County. The Ventura County base is composed of three facilities — at Point Mugu, Port Hueneme and San Nicolas Island.

In this July 7, 2019 file photo, a visitor takes a photo of a crack in the ground following recent earthquakes near Ridgecrest, Calif. The Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake military base nearby remains closed to non-essential personnel as damage assessments continue following last week’s powerful earthquakes in the area. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

This photo shows the entrance to the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in Ridgecrest, California, on July 4, 2019. (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images)

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A ‘Base Closed’ sign is posted outside the main gate to Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake on July 7, 2019 in Ridgecrest, California. NAWS China Lake is currently “not mission capable until further notice” following a series of earthquakes nearby. Non-essential personnel were authorized to evacuate the base due to infrastructure concerns. The base remains accessible only to mission essential personnel. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

A vehicle enters the main gate to Naval Air Weapons Station (NAWS) China Lake on July 7, 2019 in Ridgecrest, California. NAWS China Lake is currently “not mission capable until further notice” following a series of earthquakes nearby. Non-essential personnel were authorized to evacuate the base due to infrastructure concerns. The base remains accessible only to mission essential personnel. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)

China Lake Naval Weapons Station was closed today after last nights earthquake of a 7.1 aftershock earthquake near Ridgecrest, California, U.S., July 6, 2019. (Photo by Gene Blevins/Contributing Photographer)

The earthquakes opened fault lines near major runways and laboratories used to test mission systems on some of the Marine Corps and Navy’s most advanced aircraft, including F-18s, AV8-Harriers and F-35s.

Ed Hackett, a contractor at the naval weapons station, is among those who are now working off base.

“We’re writing reports and doing certain analysis that are the unclassified part of the build-up process for the F-35 B and C flown by the Marine Corps and the Navy,” Hackett said Tuesday, July 9, from his Ridgecrest office.

Engineers and base personnel are inspecting the China Lake buildings for safety and functionality. Any delay in getting the base up and running likely will involve the sensitive measuring devices and technologies used to run the aerospace testing labs.

“A lot of sensitive and classified work has to be conducted in secure facilities,” Hackett said. “These ranges have systems that have to be highly calibrated for timing, distance, and altitude. All the missions systems eventually will have to be tested.”

Workers are now evaluating building that house the weapons systems laboratories and preparing the labs to resume testing, Hackett said.

“All the work, day-to-day, between the government workforce, the military and government contractors is geared to support national security,” Hackett said. “It’s about keeping those aircraft at the top of their mission capabilities.”

Since Monday, Navy personnel have been working with scientists and engineers from the United States Geological Survey to monitor the fractures and frequent aftershocks near the epicenter.

“The epicenter was in an area of mostly open fields in the base’s North Range,” said Helen Haase, a spokeswoman with Navy Region Southwest. “We first checked where the weapons are and everything checked out fine.”

Of the 1,200 buildings in that range, about 10% were checked as of Tuesday.

There are 2,100 buildings and facilities on the base, 329 miles of paved roads, and 1,801 miles of unpaved roads. There normally are about 620 active-duty military personnel, 4,166 civil service employees and 1,734 contractors working at the base.

Erika Ritchie reports on South Orange County coastal communities, military issues and Camp Pendleton for the OC Register. She explores everything from coastal access, environmental issues and marine life to city government, animal welfare and quality of life. She’s won many awards including first place in news (2016) by the Orange County Press Club for her coverage of record numbers of whale entanglements off the California coast. Erika’s covered military change of command and seen military affairs firsthand from the sea aboard a battleship, air from a MV-22 Osprey, and land including Pendleton’s International war games and San Clemente ... just that, highlighting achievements of some of Orange County’s most dedicated volunteers and non-profit leaders. Since joining the Register in 2001, she’s at times covered every city in South Orange County delving into development, housing, transportation, county government and social issues. She’s often written about Saddleback Church and Pastor Rick Warren’s emerging national and global roles. Erika’s passionate about animals and outdoor adventure. She runs, stand-up paddles and skis - both alpine and x-country. She frequents Mammoth Lakes and Mountain for hiking, biking & skiing and for her dogs to frolic in the snow and lakes. She grew up bilingual in German and conversational in French.

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